vegetable CONtaINeR gardening

Transcription

1 vegetable CONTAINER gardening

2 On the cover: Almost all vegetables grow well in containers, but choosing the right variety helps. Window Box Roma tomato, for instance, stays a manageable size for pots, and Tumbler tomato vines spill nicely out of hanging baskets by Rodale Inc. The information presented here has been carefully researched, and all efforts have been made to ensure accuracy. Rodale Inc. assumes no responsibility for any injuries suffered or for damages or losses incurred during the use of or as a result of following this information. It is important to study all directions carefully before taking any action based on the information and advice presented. When using any commercial product, always read and follow label directions. Mention of specific companies, organizations, or authorities in this publication does not imply endorsement by the publisher, nor does it imply endorsement of the information by those companies, organizations, or authorities. contents 4 Why Garden in a Pot? 5 Choose the Perfect Container 11 Plant for Success 18 Grow These Veggies 18 Bush Beans 19 Carrots 20 Cucumbers 21 Herbs 23 Lettuce 25 Peppers 26 Potatoes 27 Summer Squash 28 Tomatoes Internet addresses and telephone numbers were accurate at the time this publication went to press. Project editor: Diane Gilroy Copy editor: Kathy Dvorsky Cover designer: Andrea Hall Book designer: Maureen Logan Photographers: Rob Cardillo, 28; courtesy of Michael Chen, 30; Andrew Drake, 7; Mitch Mandel/Rodale, 3, 18, 21 25, 27, back cover; Barbara Ovrutsky/Rodale, 20; Rodale Inc., cover Illustrators: Robin Brickman, 10 (bottom), 12; Julia Child, 7 (top), 10; Frank Fretz, 8 (top); John Gist, 8 (bottom), 29; Carol Inouye, 20; Elayne Sears, 14, 26; Keith Ward, 9 Photo editor: James Gallucci Photo assistant: Troy Schnyder

3 A Diverse Assortment 5 Special Container How-Tos 7 Sizing Up Containers 10 pg 4 Why Garden in a Pot? F For a gardener who lives in a city apartment and wants the pleasure of plucking a fresh tomato from the vine, growing vegetables in containers is probably the only option. But even a gardener with lots of garden space may want to add a pot here and there just for fun or to find out firsthand if cultivars advertised as container friendly really are. Containers can add color and interest to a small garden. If the planting arrangement doesn t look right, pick up your pots and try again. Container gardening allows you to plant on deck steps, at front entrances, on patios, in window boxes anywhere there s room for a container or two which means that even the most landdeprived gardener can grow herbs and vegetables in the smallest amount of space. A garden on the deck is delightful. It s so easy to pick tiny alpine strawberries when they are growing in a window box hanging from the railing just outside the kitchen door. Cucumbers in a self-watering pot and lettuce in a wooden box sitting atop the railing are but a step away from becoming a salad. Fast-growing radishes and slow-growing carrots grow well together in another railing box. And growing tubs of herbs and vegetables adds a dimension to gardening that s hard to pass up. It puts you in control of the growing conditions. You can move plants at will. You can easily bring a cherished tender herb like rosemary indoors to protect it from winter cold. You can garden if the soil is lousy, plant when you have the time, and use every available space. With containers, you can take advantage of light and moisture wherever you find them in sunny stairwells, under trees, or out front beside your driveway. In this booklet, we ll help you choose the perfect container, find the best plants, and nurture them to harvest. Who knows? You may find container gardening so convenient, you ll kiss your garden patch good-bye. Choose the Perfect Container M Matching the plant to the space available is the key to success with container gardens. Read plant tags and catalog descriptions and watch for plants described as compact, dwarf, or good for containers. It helps to know the minimum-size container for the plant. For example, most herbs will grow well in containers that hold from 2 to 4 gallons of planting mix. Vegetables vary in their needs check Know Your Containers on page 6 for specific guidelines. If you don t know the volume of a container, ask a salesperson for information. For containers you already have, eyeball an approximation by imagining how many gallon jugs would fit in the container. A Diverse Assortment Containers come in many wonderful shapes, sizes, and materials. Some are easier to maintain than others, and some are more beautiful than others. New, lightweight, self-watering containers seem to have it all. But keep using old pots that have proven their value in maximizing the gardening potential of a small space. Here s how Patricia Lanza, author of Lasagna Gardening for Small Spaces, puts her collection of containers to good use. Terra-cotta strawberry pots are filled with herbs. A mesa or Mayan planter (which is usually made of terra-cotta and has 11 separate openings) holds several different kinds of lettuce, salad herbs, and edible flowers, as well as a patio tomato in the large, main opening. Four terra-cotta pots of graduated sizes are stacked high, one inside the other, all planted with strawberries that spill over the sides. An old watering can holds thyme, rosemary, and baby basil. Window boxes are pretty and productive when used for flowers, culinary herbs, and even carrots. An old metal trash can may not be glamorous, but it s an excellent size for growing hearty tomato plants. You could also let vining plants spill over the sides to disguise it. pg 5 4 VEGETABLE CONTAINER GARDENING 5

4 Glazed ceramic and terra-cotta are classic container materials, but they require a strong back, if not a hand truck, to move around. And that s before you put soil and plants in them. If your container must be moved seasonally or if your site is difficult to access or has weight limitations (like a balcony or rooftop), consider a lighter-weight material, such as wood, zinc, or one of the new attractive plastic composites. Bear in mind that containers with complex glazes and painted designs definitely catch the eye but often look busy when planted. Simple, neutral pots act as a foundation of a planting and don t distract from the real stars of the show: the plants. Whatever type of container you select, make sure it has drainage holes in the bottom. If it doesn t, make some. Good drainage is the difference between success and failure in a potted garden. For most materials, you can use an electric drill to open drainage holes in the bottom of the container. If the pot is metal, a handheld can opener may do the trick. As you work with containers, you ll decide for yourself which materials you like best. All containers have their pros and cons, and they re outlined below. Patricia Lanza, author of Lasagna Gardening for Small Spaces, says her favorite container is a deep plastic planter, about 24 inches in diameter, that s a light shade of terra-cotta. She loves the color, and plastic doesn t dry out as quickly as clay. The pot is wide enough to hold plenty of soil for several plants and deep enough to sink tall bamboo poles into as plant supports. CHOOSE THE PERFECT CONTAINER Elegant Edibles Plant vegetables and herbs in groups for a big impact. Left to right: young Romeo carrots, lemon-scented thyme. Tumbler tomato and calibrachoa. Dona tomato intertwined with daisies, alpine strawberries with gerbera daisies, beets, chives, Aureum oregano, Merlot lettuce, and Roman chamomile Know Your Containers You may be a bit overwhelmed when you see the variety of containers available for sale at your local garden center. To help you make choices, here are some pros and cons of the most popular types of containers. Type of Container Good Points Drawbacks Cast iron Growing bags Plastic, fiberglass Pottery, ceramic Terra-cotta Wire Beautiful and weather resistant; retains moisture well Reusable; these hang from fences or walls so they don t take up any ground space Lightweight, inexpensive, and weather resistant Beautiful and distinctive Beautiful; provides bottom weight to counterbalance tall plants Attractive; plants can be set between wires for lush effects Wood Versatile; insulates roots in hot weather May rot Heavy! Prone to rusting Need frequent watering May blow over on windy days Fragile; not weather resistant Dries out quickly in hot weather; cracks if it freezes; heavy Needs liner and frequent watering Special Container How-Tos From a plastic bag hanging on a fence to a seldom-used cooking pan to a box set on the windowsill, containers with veggiegrowing potential are all around us. Hanging Pouches Hanging planters made from heavy green plastic have come onto the home gardening scene in recent years. These specially made plastic sleeves or pouches are closed at the bottom and have a hanger at the top; one side has carefully spaced slits cut through it. Fill the pouch with moist potting soil. Then push a seedling through each slit and place two or three plants in the soil at the top of the pouch, near the hanger. Keep the bag prone on a surface until the plants become established. After you hang it up, water only from the top. (Turning a hose on the front of it won t get the water where it s needed and may make the plants more susceptible to disease.) The plant growth eventually hides the sleeve. Window Boxes Wood, plastic, copper, iron, tin, ceramic, terra-cotta, stone, wire, and fiberglass window boxes are all available. This type of planter does fine in shady sites as well as sunny ones. But if your windows are in the sun all day, avoid solid-metal or darkly colored boxes, because they can heat up and toast plant roots. If you choose terra- 6 VEGETABLE CONTAINER GARDENING 7

5 CHOOSE THE PERFECT CONTAINER cotta, be sure to immerse the boxes completely in water for a half hour before planting so the clay doesn t absorb all the water meant for the plants. Window boxes are the ultimate in narrow gardening they re usually just 6 to 8 inches wide. Don t get one less than 4 inches wide it won t look flush and will require constant watering. And speaking of water, make sure you have access from inside or outside for watering the window box. A standard-size window box is about 3 feet long. Windowbox.com recommends considering the proportion of your windows before buying a box. A window box should be about 25% of the height of the window; 20% if the window is very tall. Make sure the box has drainage holes (each about ½ inch in diameter, spaced about 6 inches apart). If it doesn t have any, you ll need to drill some. Cover the holes with screening or coffee filters to hold in the soil. You can create a big effect in a small space when you pack a window box with bright colors. Use the outside edge for plants that will cascade over the side, such as prostrate rosemary or trailing nasturtiums. That leaves the bulk of the box for other herbs or annual flowers. With the addition of a small trellis, you can grow tomatoes, basil, and parsley. Climbing plants can climb a simple trellis built into a crate. section of wire fencing (with 4-inch squares) around the outside of the box. Attach it to itself for extra strength. Plants can lean or climb on the wire. Containers on the Cheap Use your imagination and keep the dollars in your wallet. Punch a few holes in the bottom of an old plastic kiddie pool and fill it with a few tomato plants bordered by pest-repelling marigolds. An old watering can or a galvanized trash barrel can add a dash of creativity to an otherwise boring deck. A salvaged animal trough can take on new life when planted. And terra-cotta flue tiles have a pleasing rectangular shape. Look around and you ll find all sizes and shapes of potential plant containers. A large mug or soup bowl might house chives or another herb. A gelatin mold or old angel-food cake pan gathering dust might become a minigarden with radishes or short, stout carrots popping up from the soil. A neglected toy shopping cart, dump truck, or wagon is the ultimate little portable garden. If you have an old side table with a cracked top, remove the top. Staple a hanging chicken-wire bowl in its place. Line it with moss, add potting soil, and plant. Here are a few other suggestions. Just make sure the unique planter has drainage. dishpan wastebasket old birdcage plastic or metal bucket half barrel discarded sink old metal washtub bushel basket used tire garbage bag filled with soil L-shaped sill extenders from the local garden center are easy to install, and they allow you to add a cheery window box to almost any window. Storage Crates Milk or storage crates make great vegetable garden boxes. You don t have to wait for soil to warm up or for the weather to improve; whenever you re ready to plant, the conditions are right. Before filling a crate with your favorite soil mix and amendments, line it with burlap to keep soil from escaping. Then moisten the soil and start planting. Small plastic crates are great for plants like lettuce and basil. For tall tomatoes or climbing cucumbers, use a wooden or sturdy plastic crate with a wire support. To make a simple support, after planting, staple a 6-foot-tall Seed Starting on Wheels Fill an old metal wheelbarrow with seed-starting mix and plant into it. You can move the wheelbarrow around to give the seedlings sun or shade as desired, and even wheel them inside if a cold spell is predicted. When it s time to plant the seedlings into the garden, it s a cinch to transport the transplants right to the planting site. Or, if you ve planned ahead and drilled holes in the bottom, you may want to leave some of the plants in the wheelbarrow until they re ready to harvest. Make a liner of burlap or plastic screen if necessary.. 8 VEGETABLE CONTAINER GARDENING 9

6 Perfect Planting Technique 13 Watering Wisdom 14 Fertilizing Fundamentals 16 Sizing Up Containers You can grow vegetables in clay, plastic, wood, metal, or even concrete containers if you make sure the containers have drainage holes and will hold enough growing mix for your crops. Here are some ideas for matching crops to containers. A 6-inch pot holds 2½ quarts of growing mix enough for 6 radishes, 1 escarole plant, or 1 dwarf tomato plant. An 8-inch pot holds 1 gallon of growing mix. That s enough root room for 1 to 3 lettuce, bush bean, kale, or spinach plants. A 10-inch pot holds about 2 gallons of growing mix. It can support 1 bush cucumber, pepper, or patio tomato plant; 8 bulb onions or beet plants; or 12 carrots or green onions. A 12-inch pot holds 3½ gallons of growing mix. That s enough for 1 standard-size tomato plant, 1 head of cabbage, 15 long-rooted carrots, 6 lettuce plants, 9 bush pea plants, or 1 pepper plant. Resurrect a Cracked Pot Catriona Tudor Erler, author of The Frugal Gardener, sometimes salvages a favorite pot that has cracked. She puts duct tape inside the pot to hold the crack together and slips a plastic liner pot inside to hold soil and plants. If you try her method, make sure the inside pot applies no pressure against the walls of the cracked outer pot. A box 1 foot square and 8 inches deep holds 5 gallons of growing mix. It can grow 25 beet plants, 4 to 9 lettuce plants, or 9 to 12 bush bean plants. A box 1 foot square and 1 foot deep, filled with 7 gallons of growing mix, can hold 1 broccoli, cauliflower, eggplant, melon, or summer squash plant. A box 2 feet square and 8 inches deep holds 10 gallons of growing mix. That s enough for 12 corn plants or 40 bush bean plants. Or try a mixed salad garden with 10 lettuce plants, 20 green onions, and 10 radishes. Plant for Success JJust about any produce your family likes to eat will grow in a pot even potatoes, corn, strawberries, and (yes, it s true) fruit trees. A good crop depends on choosing plants well, planting them where they ll grow, and nurturing them to tasty maturity. The Best Plants If you are new to gardening, the easiest food plants to start with are tomatoes, peppers, lettuce, parsley, sage, and basil. When you go to your local greenhouse or home center to buy plants or seeds, look for compact varieties, which means they won t outgrow your pot. You can mix some of these in one pot, too a single container with one tomato plant and one basil will yield enough for a couple of salads a week at the end of summer. You can mix a flower, an herb, and a vegetable in one large container, if you d like, for a planter that s as beautiful as it is efficient. If you are buying plants for your containers, here s how to choose the healthiest ones. Pick up the pot. If it feels heavy and the soil feels moist, you ll know it has been watered regularly. Look for plants that are compact and bushy. Avoid those with long, leggy stems; they ve outgrown their pots. Pass by plants with dead, withered, or yellowed leaves Choose plants that have not started to flower. You want your transplants to devote their energy at first to growing roots, not blooming. Check closely for insects, particularly aphids. For suggested cultivars, see the specific plant you d like to try in Grow These Veggies, starting on page 18. The Ideal Location Choose the best spot for your container garden. A site with at least 6 hours of sun will let you grow the widest range of vegetables and herbs. Pick a spot that s close to a water source and protected from the wind. If you have to garden in a windy area say, a balcony or rooftop place the container on the lee side of a wall or fence, or anchor it to a post or railing. For gardens on exposed sites like roofs and high decks, stretch burlap or commercially available wind cloth between posts on the side toward the prevailing wind to protect plants from drying and being knocked over. pg VEGETABLE CONTAINER GARDENING 11

7 PLANT FOR SUCCESS Keep in mind that filled containers can get pretty heavy, and make sure your deck, porch, or, especially, rooftop is up to the task of holding that weight and your weight as you walk on it. If you have any doubts, have a structural engineer examine it before starting a rooftop garden. If you have room for large pots (ideally 16 inches or more across), you can grow large plants (such as potatoes or determinate tomatoes) or if you provide a trellis or other support vining crops (such as beans or cucumbers). In front of the big pots, leave room for some medium-size potted plants, such as peppers or basil. Plan on placing small pots of herbs, patio tomatoes, or bush beans in front. Include baskets of trailing plants (such as strawberries, indeterminate tomatoes, and prostrate rosemary hung from the eaves, and you ll have a garden full of veggies and herbs without setting foot off your deck! If your container garden has to be on a hot spot for instance, an asphalt- Protect Steps and Decks Elevate containers on bricks or small wooden legs to prevent damage to wooden decks and stairs. Or, for a wooden floor s protection and to make it easy to move the plant set a large pot on a platform with wheels. covered roof or very sunny patio deflect the sun s rays with a regular window shade. Hang it from a ceiling, overhang, or high railing, and raise and lower it as needed. Another way to fend off extreme heat especially from the floor is to double-pot your plants. Place the pot with the plant growing in it inside a larger pot. Fill the space between the pots with wood chips or peat moss, and keep them damp to help insulate the roots from suffering in the stifling weather. Setting pots together in a group can also help control evaporation of precious water from each individual container. A pot in a pot helps conserve moisture. Mulching the plant container with the material that s in the crevice also saves water. Drainage Essentials Successful container gardening depends most of all on drainage. Air is as important to the health of plants as water and nutrients, says Wendy Welch, a garden designer in Seattle who specializes in containers. When a container does not have adequate drainage, water filters into the spaces between soil particles, waterlogging the soil and denying plants roots essential oxygen. Many gardeners add gravel or pottery shards to the bottom of containers in an attempt to improve drainage by preventing the drainage hole from becoming blocked with soil. It is a myth that this improves drainage, Welch says. When water moves from a material with small pore spaces, such as potting soil, into a material with larger ones like gravel, the bottom layer of the soil must become completely saturated before it releases the water into the coarser material. This so-called perched water table results in a layer of very soggy soil and unhealthy plant roots. If you re worried about soil coming out the drainage hole, Welch suggests putting a coffee filter over it. It eventually breaks down, and you can poke a hole through it if you need to. You may have also heard that you should fill the bottom third of a pot with packing peanuts or soda cans to lighten it up. This practice can create a perched water table and is also unnecessary, because the total poundage of a pot impacts a container garden s weight a lot more than the soil. Go for a lighter pot, because the volume of soil that peanuts or cans replace will not make that much of a difference, Welch says. They are also not organic, so when it comes time to replace your soil, you can t put them in your compost bin. They don t hold any water or nutrients, and they take up space that roots could use. Perfect Planting Technique Set up your container planting area in a shady spot to minimize stress on the seedlings. The exception: If you re planting a large container, move it to the spot where you want it to be it s much easier to move a large container when it s empty than after you fill it! With a small pot, put a coffee filter or paper towel in the bottom to cover the drainage holes. For a large pot, place one or two sheets of wet newspaper in the bottom to prevent materials from leaking out through the drainage holes. (You may want to set a large container up on bricks to help ensure good drainage.) Use lightweight organic potting mix (a blend of peat, vermiculite, and perlite). Don t use soil from the garden; the regular watering containers require causes the soil to compact and pull away from the container and interfere with root growth. Blend two parts potting mix with one part compost (homemade or a bagged organic brand, such as Coast of Maine). Compost contributes nutrients to the potting mix, and compost s living bacteria fight plant disease, says Steve Diver, agriculture specialist with the National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT). And compost doles out moisture as the plants need it essential in containers, which tend to dry out quickly. Lightly moisten the soil mix and then fill your container. Once it s filled, scoop out a hole for each transplant about twice the width of the pot that it s in now. Pick up the plant, place a finger on each side of the stem at soil level, and turn over the pot into your hand. Gently put the plant in the hole at the same depth it was in its pot. Backfill the hole with the soil you dug out. Firm the soil around the plant, but don t press on it so hard that you squeeze all the air out of it. Because you ve already moistened the soil, you don t need to water the container immediately. 12 VEGETABLE CONTAINER GARDENING 13

8 PLANT FOR SUCCESS Supercharge a Container Heavy feeders, such as tomatoes and peppers, need a rich source of food to produce a good crop. So do fruit trees and bushes, because you ll harvest from them over several years. In the garden, their roots can spread to find food, and the soil s fertility is renewed as earthworms and microorganisms digest the mulch layers that you add each season. The system doesn t work quite that way in containers, so you may want to add some extra nutrients as you fill the containers. To make a special nutrient booster, mix 1 part bloodmeal with 1 part rock or colloidal phosphate and 1 part greensand. (You can buy these soil amendments at garden centers.) Use about 1 cup total for every 5 gallons of container volume. Watering Wisdom Plants in containers require a steady supply of moisture, because soil in containers dries out quickly. They may need watering every day in the driest climates, every 2 or 3 days during summer in most places. Because soil in a clay pot dries more quickly than that in a plastic pot, you many want to mulch the surface with fine material such as shredded bark. The simplest way to determine if your plants need water is to gently push your index finger into the soil. If it feels dusty and dry, the plant needs water. If the soil is still moist, hold off on the water. Be aware that too much water is as likely to stymie or even kill your plants as too little. The best time to water your containers is in the morning. If you can t water then, early evening is better than in the heat of the day, when most of the moisture evaporates before the plants can suck it up. Whatever time of day you water, pour the water on the soil surface and not the leaves. Or pour the water on the roots of your plants, rather than their leaves. Water on the leaves may evaporate before the plants can absorb it. Heat-loving plants, such as eggplants and peppers, prefer lukewarm to cool water. A Drip Irrigation Setup A homemade drip irrigation system can save you lots of time and effort. To provide your plants with the water they need, attach a timer and an old garden hose to an outdoor faucet near your containers. Punch holes in the hose, string it through the containers, and plug the hose end. Test the pressure to make sure the water will drip out slowly, Drip irrigation is easy to set up and saves watering time. then set the timer to turn on the water as often as the plants need it. Your plants will never be thirsty again. Self-Watering Pots How can you take a little vacation if you don t have a drip irrigation setup and have to water your container garden every day? Try one of these selfwatering techniques to keep your container plantings thriving when you go away for a few days. Slip a plastic saucer or shallow pan under each pot; water the plants well and fill the saucers just before you leave. Build a watering reservoir into your containers. Start with a 5-gallon bucket or other container that doesn t have holes in the bottom. Drill drainage holes about 2 or 3 inches up on the sides of the bucket. When you water deeply, you ll create a self-contained reservoir of moisture at the very base of the container. Make a self-watering system out of an old T-shirt. Tear the shirt (or other rag) into long strips. Bury one end of a strip several inches deep in the soil of a pot, and hang the other end into a pan or bucket of water set beside the pot. The How to Water a Hanging Basket To fully hydrate a hanging basket: Fill a Tubtrug or large bucket with water, then take down your basket and immerse it in the water for 5 to 10 minutes or until it stops bubbling. Rehang the basket and move the tub under it to catch dripping water. cloth will act as a wick and draw moisture into the soil in the plant pot. Set a rock on the strips to keep the wind from blowing them out of the pan of water. Water Conservation Because the roots of container plants can t reach out into the surrounding soil, you must water the plants frequently. Water evaporates quickly from pots, too. To conserve water, group your containers together to help capture the moisture and hold it in the plants immediate environment. If your plants Too Much Water or Too Little? Oddly enough, the symptoms of overwatering and underwatering are essentially the same: limp leaves and stems, and slow growth. Fortunately, the solution is easy. Check the soil s moisture and either cut back on the water or be more diligent about watering. Chances are, you ll know what you ve done wrong. Here are two ways to get rid of excess water without breaking your back. Remove the extra water with a plastic turkey baster. Place a block or other sturdy lifter under one side of the pot to elevate it. The excess water will drain out the lower side. 14 VEGETABLE CONTAINER GARDENING 15

9 are set in a windy place, the wind will hasten evaporation and stress plants. Clay pots are known for losing moisture, so if you use them, put plastic pots inside to conserve the H 2 O. During hot spells, the easiest way to take care of potted plants is to move them into a shadier spot. Or you can line a pot by putting it into a larger container and placing sphagnum moss between them to insulate against the heat. Or insulate your container with the earth: Dig a hole and put the container in the ground to keep it cooler and minimize evaporation. Save runoff by setting containers on the lawn or garden when you water them. Or submerge pots in a large, water-filled tub and then set them on a deep tray or pan to catch the overflow for reuse. Fertilizing Fundamentals The nutrients in the planting mix will last for 3 to 4 weeks. Then it s time to apply an all-purpose organic fertilizer, diluted fish emulsion concentrate, or diluted compost tea. To make your own organic fertilizer, mix 4 parts bloodmeal, 2 parts bone meal, and 1 part kelp, rock phosphate, or greensand (dry). To make liquid organic fertilizer, combine 1 tablespoon fish emulsion concentrate with 1 tablespoon liquid kelp and a teaspoon of bloodmeal in 1 gallon of water. It s best to use liquid fertilizer at a weaker strength and feed more often for example, every 2 weeks at half strength. Once your plants are producing fruit, give them a full-strength feeding every week or two. Pest Pointers Container plants that are healthy and strong tend to resist insect pests on their own. But if you find that one of your pots is infested with pests, move it away from other containers so the problem doesn t spread. A strong stream of water can eliminate some common pests, such as aphids (tiny insects that suck on plant leaves) and spider mites (they cover leaves with white webbing). If you must take stronger measures, look for treatments such as insecticidal soap, which doesn t harm people, pets, or wildlife other than insects. Look for these products at home centers, or go online to Web sites such as gardensalive.com. Warm Harbor When you have a small city of con tainers on your apartment porch, it may not be possible to bring all of them inside if frost threatens. Instead, create a protected space by suspending sheets of clear plastic from the porch ceiling in front of your plants. A window shade already installed to protect plants from the sun may do dual duty by shielding them from the cold. A more cumbersome but effective solution is to cover the plants with a large bedsheet on cold nights. Window Box Particulars Here are some tips especially for the window box gardener. If a window box sits in Water. direct sun for much of the day, you may need to water both morning and evening. Water until the water runs out of the drainage holes, and don t assume that because it has rained, your plants have enough moisture. If your plants droop in the sunlight but recover in the shade or after sundown, they need more water. Try not to let the soil completely dry out, especially if you use a soilless peat-based mix. Once peat dries, it no longer absorbs water and actually repels it, becoming almost impossible to rewet. If the peat does dry out, try this remedy from John Begeman, agriculture and natural resources agent at the University of Arizona: Add a few drops of liquid dishwashing detergent to a quart of water, then water slowly with this solution. The soap breaks the barrier to the soil and allows the water to be absorbed. The results should last a long time, so you shouldn t need to Great Window Box Plants Herbs Oregano Parsley Rosemary Thyme Vegetables Cherry tomatoes Lettuce Peppers Swiss chard PLANT FOR SUCCESS use the soap solution more than once or twice in a season. Mulch. Mulching the soil in a window box helps hold moisture in and gives a finished look to the box. Whatever you use, be sure to thoroughly water the plants before adding the mulch, or the mulch could act as a barrier to the water. Periodically check to be sure that water is getting through to the soil and isn t running off the top of the mulch. Use cocoa shells, finely shredded bark, or moss. Fertilize. Soil mixes don t provide enough nutrients for the plants to thrive the entire season, and what nutrients there are can wash out the drainage holes when you water. So to keep your plants healthy and growing, fertilize every 2 weeks with seaweed or fish emulsion, diluted to half the recommended garden strength. 16 VEGETABLE CONTAINER GARDENING 17

10 pg 18 Potted Garlic 20 Herbs in a Basket 22 Upside-Down Tomatoes 30 Grow These Veggies Y You ve decided which veggie you d like to grow. You ve gathered your pots, prepared the window box, and are considering a stray wastebasket or holey watering can as a potential home for a plant. Now it s time to read some basics and find out which varieties will work well in your minigardens. Read on to learn about eight veggies and some herbs. And be sure to turn back to page 10 to see how many of your favorite plants will fit in each type of container. Bush Beans Bush beans are ideal for small spaces. You can plant them in a strip just 3 inches wide at the edge of the garden, in a window box, or in a double row in a narrow garden. These pretty plants grow about 12 inches high and bear purple, yellow, or green beans. Pick a variety that matures in a short time, and make the most of your space by planting small patches every 2 weeks for an extended harvest. You can produce enough fresh snap beans from a planting in a large pot to be able to serve beans with dinner once a week. Growing Tips. Beans need at least half a day of sun, and they like full sun best. Plant beans from seed, sowing them 1 to 2 inches deep. Bean plants have shallow roots, so keep the soil constantly moist. Don t overwater, though, because too much water may cause pods to drop. Once seedlings emerge, add an extra top mulch to conserve moisture. Don t touch your plants when the leaves are wet from rain or dew, because this can spread disease. Harvesting. Pick snap beans when they re about as thick as a pencil. Keep picking every 2 or 3 days, or the plants will tend to stop producing new pods. Best Picks. Brittle Wax produces huge, early crops of slightly curved, round yellow pods that grow to 7 inches. (52 days from seed to harvest) Bush Blue Lake is the standard by which other beans are judged. An improved green bean from an old variety, it has few problems and continues producing pods as long as you keep beans picked. (55 days from seed to harvest) Burpee s Stringless Green Pod is an entirely stringless green bean with exceptional flavor and a very high yield. (50 days from seed to harvest) Royal Burgundy is a good producer in cool-summer areas. The beautiful purple pods turn green when cooked. (60 days from seed to harvest) Sequoia is a delicious, 5-inch purple Romano-type bean that turns bright green when cooked. It tolerates cool weather well. (53 days from seed to harvest) Carrots It s easy to tuck baby carrots into containers, or even a window box, and you only have to wait a couple of months from seeding to delicious harvest. Growing Tips. Carrots like full sun and loose, sandy soil. Plant seed in GROW THESE VEGGIES spring. If you have a 36-inch window box, plant a row of carrot seed, 2 inches apart, down the middle. Carrots are a cool-season crop, and they ll produce bitter, woody roots in hot weather. Water the soil mixture thoroughly. Mix sand with the tiny seed, and broadcast it lightly over the container to get an even sowing. Because carrots are slow to germinate, mix some radish seeds in also. The radishes will pop up in a day or two, marking the area and breaking the surface crust for the delicate carrot seedlings. Carrot seedlings may not appear for 2 weeks, and they ll still be quite small when the radishes are ready to pick, so you ll get two crops from the same growing space. After sowing, mist lightly to keep the soil moist. Thin seedlings to stand ½ inch apart. Harvesting. When the roots have grown to about 1 inch long, pull and eat some to allow space for the rest of the crop to expand. These first tiny carrots will not be a deep, rich orange that color develops later. As soon as carrots have a deep orange color, it s time to harvest the rest of the crop. Loosen the soil around the roots with an old meat fork so you don t break off the tops. Best Picks. Little Finger is a true baby carrot, bred to be eaten young. You can have several crops coming along at different times by planting several containers 2 weeks apart. (60 days from seed to harvest) Scarlet Nantes are the sweetest variety. (68 days from seed to harvest if you let them mature to 5 to 6 inches) 18 VEGETABLE CONTAINER GARDENING 19

11 Thumbelina carrots only measure 1 to 1½ inches at maturity, so one carrot is one bite. (60 days from seed to harvest) Cucumbers So easy and quick to plant and grow, cucumbers are also natural space savers in both bush and vine form. Growing Tips. Cucumbers need lots of sun, good drainage, and rich soil. Full sun is best, but you can get by with a site that is shady for a couple of hours in the afternoon as long as it receives full morning sun. Plant two seeds in a 6-inch pot, and if both seeds germinate, snip off the weaker seedling with scissors. Self-watering pots are great for thirsty cucumbers. If you plant a vining variety, train it up a support. Consistent watering is important to prevent the fruits from becoming bitter. Water cucumbers in pots daily. Mulch regularly to keep the roots cool and moist. Harvesting. Use scissors to clip the fruits from the vine. Keep cucumbers picked, and they ll keep on coming. Best Picks. Jade is an early, slender Asian cucumber. These cucumbers have vigorous vines and a gourmet-quality taste. It s a nonbitter variety The Salad Bush cucumber bears lots of full-size crunchy cucumbers. Potted Garlic Whoops. You should have planted garlic 6 weeks ago. Is it too late to get it into the ground? That depends on whether the ground in your area has frozen or not. If it hasn t, go ahead and plant. Even if it has frozen, you can: Grow your garlic in containers. Plant the cloves in 5-gallon nursery pots filled with potting soil (see photo). Leave the pots indoors in a place such as an unheated garage during the coldest part of the season so the soil doesn t freeze solid. Move the pots outdoors in early spring and pull the bulbs right out of the pot when they re mature. The trick to container garlic is watering just enough to keep the soil from drying out, but not letting it become too soggy. Plant the cloves in smaller pots and grow them indoors until there s a thaw. Then cut off the bottom of each pot and, disturbing the roots as little as possible, sink the bottomless pot into the soil. Mulch heavily with leaves or straw until temperatures stay above freezing. with thin-skinned fruit and fresh flavor. (54 days from seed to harvest) Orient Express grows well on small trellises and produces long, slim fruit. (64 days from seed to harvest) Salad Bush is a real space saver, perfect for containers. Each dark green fruit is 8 inches long. The taste is unbeatable. (56 days to maturity) Herbs It s a pleasure to see, touch, and smell herbs close by in pots when you re sitting on the porch! If you want fresh herbs for cooking herbs that deer are least attracted to plant hyssop, lavender, marjoram, mint, oregano, rosemary, sage, and thyme. You can mix some into your containers of flowering annuals and perennials, too. GROW THESE VEGGIES Growing Tips. All of these herbs like full sun and well-drained soil. It s best to buy them and transplant them to your container. Be careful not to overwater them or let them become overcrowded. If they re in a large container, rotate it from time to time so all sides receive equal amounts of light. Thyme requires warm summers if you want it to flower. In fall, you may want to bring some of your container herbs indoors, but keep in mind that many herbs will suffer indoors unless they receive supplemental light. Aloe, lavender, rosemary, scented geraniums, and tarragon are some of the herbs that should survive in a sunny window without supplemental light. Harvest lightly in winter, though, because the plants will grow slowly. 20 VEGETABLE CONTAINER GARDENING 21

12 GROW THESE VEGGIES Here s the plant therapy that Pat Lanza administers before bringing some herbs indoors once the weather turns cold. This treatment helps the herbs prepare for a change of light, temperature, and humidity. Here s what to do. 1 Remove the plant from the pot. Brush away the soil on the roots and use sharp scissors or pruners to trim them by one-third. 2 Scrub the pot in soapy water. Add a wet sheet of newspaper to the bottom of the pot and a couple of inches of new potting mix. 3 Return the plant to the pot, setting it at the same level as it was growing previously. Add more soil as needed and firm the soil in place around the roots. 4 Trim the plant foliage and stems back by one-third. 5 Water the plant and let it rest for a week or so in a shady spot. Once inside, keep the plant away from drafts, heaters, and hot sunlight; even though herbs like the sun, they like to be cool. Harvesting. If you want to use herbs in cooking, don t allow them to flower. Cut the stems and strip away the leaves to add flavor to many dishes. (Herbs, flowering or not, also add beauty and fragrance to flower arrangements.) Sage is the exception: Simply pinch off individual leaves when you want to use it fresh. Best Picks. Hyssop (Hyssop officinalis) has slightly bitter leaves that, along with its blue flower spikes, can be used in salads or with fish or meat. Lavandula angustifolia is a good choice of lavender for pot gardening; dry the leaves to use in potpourri, vinegar, and sachets. Sweet marjoram (Origanum marjorana) is a tender, perennial, bushy plant Herbs in a Basket Patricia Lanza, author of Lasagna Gardening for Small Spaces, says she likes to plant herbs directly into a wooden fruit basket. This gives the roots space, nutrients, and moisture. She says, I don t bother to line the basket with plastic, either. If the basket has a tight weave, I fill it directly with soil mix. If it has a loose weave, I line the interior with two or three sheets of wet newspaper. Once the herbs take hold and get growing, their roots will hold the soil mass together even after the newspaper degrades. I combine a complete mix of compost, peat, and perlite. Let the filled container sit a few days so the soil mix can settle. I plant the basket with small, potted herbs, such as prostrate rosemary, scented geraniums, thyme, and variegated sage. I remove the herbs from their pots, tease out some of the mix, cut through any circling or potbound roots, and set the herbs close together. In addition to herbs, I sometimes use small ivy plants as filler. Once the basket is planted, I water it thoroughly and place pretty moss over the soil to keep the soil from drying out. I set the basket on an old platter or plastic tray (flea market finds!) so any soil or water that leaks out won t spoil the counter or table beneath. Herbs in Window Boxes Different herbs thrive under different light conditions. When you plan a window-box herb garden, be sure to consider the sun exposure it will receive. Jane Kuitems, of Jane s Herb Farm in Webster, NY, plants stunning containers for her demonstration gardens. For a spectacular pot in a sunny southern spot, Kuitems uses bronze fennel in the center flanked with a mixture of yellow miniroses, golden feverfew, golden lemon thyme, and Woodcote sage. Use a shallow container that is 24 inches wide and 8 inches deep. The bronze, yellow, and chartreuse color combination is really breathtaking. For a western exposure, plant an oblong wooden grown as an annual. It can reach 18 inches tall and wide, so trim it to keep it at the size you desire. In the garden, mint (Mentha spp.) and oregano have a tendency to take over, so growing them in pots is one way to tame their bullishness. Chocolate mint, orange mint, and pineapple mint are just a few of the flavored mints that are available. Only Greek oregano (Origanum vulgare subsp. hirtum) is reliable for flavor. If you want the showy pinkflowered oregano, choose common oregano (O. vulgare). Prostrate rosemary (R. officinalis Prostratus ) looks beautiful in a hanging cradle with purple sage, common thyme, chives, Kent Beauty oregano, prostrate rosemary, violas, and sweet marjoram. Plant this container in the spring, and its mauve and green waves will thrive throughout the summer. Kuitems says the perennials may last from year to year, so only some plants have to be replaced each season. basket, as does low-growing variegated sage such as Tricolor, which has green, white, and purple leaves. Lemon thyme (T. citriodorus), which is slow growing, will stay small in a pot as long as you harvest a bit now and then. Lettuce Leaf lettuce is great for planting in pots and window boxes. Growing Tips. Lettuce prefers cool weather and consistent moisture. It will grow well in full sun in cool conditions, but it does best when shaded from midday sun in hot weather. Plant it in a container with plenty of organic material that will hold moisture. 22 VEGETABLE CONTAINER GARDENING 23

13 GROW THESE VEGGIES Don t plant too much at one time. A standard packet of lettuce seed contains about 800 seeds. Sowing 15 to 20 leaf lettuce plants per person is plenty if you make plantings every 2 weeks. For an extra-early harvest, start one set of plants indoors 5 to 6 weeks before you plan to plant it outdoors. For summer sowings, try putting the lettuce seed in the refrigerator for 5 days before planting, to speed up germination. It s okay to let leaf lettuce grow densely. Thin butterhead types to 10 to 12 inches apart. Keep soil evenly moist, watering early in the day so the foliage dries quickly (wet lettuce is more prone to disease problems). During hot conditions, supply some shade by setting a lawn chair over your lettuce patch in a pot. Harvesting. Use scissors to snip baby lettuce about 1 inch above ground level, or pick off individual leaves by hand. Pick outside leaves for continued harvests. Best Picks. Baby Green is a miniature Bibb lettuce crossed with a butterhead. It grows only 5 to 6 inches tall and produces bright green heads with a tender texture. (60 days to maturity) Black Seeded Simpson is an early lettuce with curly, light green leaves that are tender and sweet at all stages. (26 days from seed to baby leaf stage; 48 days to maturity) Integratia Red has a medium, upright head with frilly, red leaves for clipping. It s well adapted for spring and fall crops, and wonderful for winter production in mild areas. (25 days to baby leaf stage; 55 days to maturity) Kale Is Cool I ve been enjoying Redbor and Red Russian kale for the past few years. I grow it from seed indoors, harden the seedlings off, then plant them in 12-inch-diameter containers outdoors. The soil is 99% compost and manure with 2 inches of pine bark mulch on top. I add compost every year to all containers. The baby kale is delicious when the leaves are 4 to 5 inches long. We eat it raw with spinach, chard, basil, tomatoes, and black currants. In the fall, I transplant the kale into the ground, and we enjoy the dark purple leaves all winter. After planting, the kale just gets water. It works. from Organic Gardening online forum member PAULALLEN Deer-Away Peppers in Pots To avoid the deer, my cousin grows all of her peppers in pots up on her deck, and has great luck with them. She uses smaller pots than I do for most of hers, but I grow larger varieties as a rule, while she has a large range of sizes. The pots vary from 1½ to 4 gallons. I put a bit of perlite in the soil when preparing it, plus a bunch of compost, and I have ½-gallon-per-hour drip irrigation emitters on all of them. To increase the peppers heat, let the plants wilt when the peppers are ripening, then flood them. It really does work! from Organic Gardening online forum member Pepperhead212 Peppers Hot peppers grow on bushy, compact plants that can fit into almost any container garden scheme. A few sweet pepper varieties don t even take up too much space. The critical factor with peppers is heat. If you have enough sunny, protected spots to go around, or if you garden in the South where there are plenty of garden hot spots, have a little fun with peppers. Growing Tips. Peppers can be slow to start from seed, so Lanza recommends buying transplants. If you can t find transplants of the varieties listed below, don t be too concerned. There are plenty of great hot pepper varieties available. Harden off the plants you buy by setting the plants outside during the day and bringing them into a sheltered area at night for about 1 week before planting them in the garden. Peppers are definitely a warmweather, long-season crop. Choose a spot in full sun that s protected from cooling winds. Bring container peppers indoors overnight if cool temperatures are predicted. Peppers need nighttime 24 VEGETABLE CONTAINER GARDENING 25

14 GROW THESE VEGGIES temperatures of about 70 F, or their blossoms will not set fruit. Peppers are perennials, so if you re growing a pepper plant in a container, you can bring it indoors for the winter. Set it in the hottest, sunniest indoor spot you can find. Treat it as you would any houseplant over winter. It won t produce new fruit, but it may continue to ripen fruit that is already set. The following spring, either set the pot back outside or transplant the plant right into your garden bed. Water it well with a liquid organic fertilizer to stimulate new growth. It won t take long for new blooms to appear. Harvesting. Pick peppers when they re green, or let them ripen fully to red, yellow, orange, or another mature color (which depends on the type and variety you re growing). Pick mature peppers promptly to encourage new blooms. Cut peppers from the main stem rather than pulling them off, which can injure the plants. Best Picks. Bananarama produces large sweet peppers on small plants. Peppers start out yellow and turn red, and they can be picked at any stage. They re 8 inches long when fully grown and are great for grilling. (70 days from transplant to yellow fruit) Jalapeño peppers are thickwalled and hot. (60 days from transplant to green fruit; 80 days to red fruit) Jingle Bells are a miniature sweet pepper and the earliest variety to turn red. The 1½-foot-tall plants support a large crop of blocky, 1½-inch square fruit. (45 days from transplant to green fruit; 65 days to red fruit) Potatoes Traditionally grown potatoes can take up a lot of room in a garden, but you can grow them successfully in containers. Early-maturing varieties are good for warm regions, because potatoes only grow well in cool temperatures. If you live in a cool-summer area, choose slow-maturing, late-season varieties. Growing Tips. Potatoes do best in full sun, and they need water on a regular basis to produce a good yield. Grow potatoes in half of a garbage can. Cut a 30-gallon garbage can in half crossways. Cut out the whole bottom of the bottom half, or cut several large holes in the bottom. Set the half-can in a garden bed, or even on a gravel patio or driveway any surface that will allow good drainage. Put a layer of newspaper on the ground surface inside the halfcan. Then put in three or four seed potatoes, and cover with 2 inches of soil. Keep adding mulch and soil as the potatoes grow. Planting potatoes in garbage-can halves gives you extra growing space. Once the plants have matured and turned yellow, dump the cans over and pick up your harvest. Harvesting. To pick new potatoes early, simply push your hand in under the plant and feel around to find some tubers. Grab the tubers and pull them out. For the main harvest, wait until the plants start to die down, then turn over the garbage can half, dumping all the contents. Gather the potatoes out of the dirt. It s best to harvest all potatoes before the first frost. If you have extra potatoes, you ll need to cure them before storing them. To cure them, spread them on newspaper for 2 weeks in a dark place where the temperature is between 50 and 60 F. Then store them in a dark, cool place in a box or basket. Best Picks. All Blue has deep purple skin and flesh, adding color and flavor to the dinner plate. (harvest late season) Nordonna is an oval to round potato with bright red skin and white flesh. It s good both for new and fullsize potatoes. (harvest midseason) Russian Banana potatoes are large, finger-shaped tubers with thin skin over pale golden flesh. Superb flavor. (harvest late season) Yellow Finn is the flavor potato with deep yellow skin and buttery yellow flesh. (harvest late season) Summer Squash The old adage Be careful what you wish for comes to mind when people think about growing summer squash. Growing Tips. Summer squash likes to grow in full sun. When all chance of frost is past and evening temperatures are no lower than 55 F, plant two or three seeds 1 inch deep, or set one transplant in a container. (Warm the soil in the container by letting it set in the sun for several days or wrapping it in black plastic several days prior to planting in it.) Start vines up a support when they are young, and pick the fruit before it gets heavy. Keep the soil evenly moist, and provide irrigation for dry spells. Harvesting. Pick summer squash when they re 4 to 6 inches long, and they ll be very tender and delicious. Check plants daily so you don t miss the fruits when they re young they can become monster size in only a few days. Use a knife or pruners to cut fruit from main stems instead of pulling them off, which can damage the vine. Best Picks. Patty Pan, Peter Pan, and Sunburst are all small, saucer-shaped squashes that grow on bush-type plants. (60 days from seed to harvest) 26 VEGETABLE CONTAINER GARDENING 27

15 Squash Needs Friends It s important to attract pollinators to squash plants, especially when you re only growing one or two. Plant basil as a companion and let it go to flower bees love basil blossoms, and they ll visit your squash blossoms, too. Sun Drops is a compact, bushy, heavy-yielding plant that will furnish the garden early with lots of tender mini-squash. Its fruits are yellow, 3-inch ovals. (48 days from seed to harvest) Eight Ball is an All-American Selections Winner, and you ll see why. This dark green, ball-shaped zucchini will grow well in a medium-size planter. (40 days from seed to harvest) Spacemiser brings you traditional zucchini flavor in 33% less space! The big yield of this small, bushy plant makes this one a must-have. (55 days from seed to harvest) Yellow Crookneck is an old reliable that grows beautifully in a container. (65 days from seed to harvest) Tomatoes For gardeners, summer wouldn t be complete without that first taste of a ripe tomato and the hardest part may be deciding which tomato to grow. Three classic varieties for containers are Sweet Million, a cherry tomato; Patio, a small slicing tomato that s perfect for containers; and Early Girl, a standard slicing tomato. In addition, we recommend some ultra-early varieties. The fruit is smaller on these plants, but it s still very flavorful. Growing Tips. Tomatoes may be determinate or indeterminate. Determinate tomatoes are bushy plants, 1 to 3 feet tall. Once these plants produce flowers at the vine tips, they stop growing and concentrate on developing all their fruit quickly. Indeterminate plants are the traditional lanky tomato vines that stretch from 6 to 20 feet long. The vines grow and produce new flowers and fruit all season. In general, determinate types are easier to manage in containers, but you can control the growth of indeterminate tomatoes by training them on a trellis and pruning sideshoots. Tomatoes like heat, so plant them in a protected spot in full sun, and position containers where they ll be out of strong winds. A 10-inch pot can support one patio tomato; employ a 15-inch pot for larger tomatoes. Use generous layers of compost to supply nutrients and also to hold plenty of moisture. Tomatoes won t produce well and may develop blossom end rot (a blackening of the blossom end of the tomato) if they don t receive a steady supply of water. Check the soil moisture of container tomatoes every other day during hot and dry conditions, and never let the soil dry out. Harvesting. If you re growing indeterminate tomatoes, keep picking fruits as they ripen to encourage additional bloom. With determinate types, expect fruits to ripen over a short period you ll be picking a lot of fruit for about a week. Twist the fruits gently to remove them without damaging the vines, or cut them free with a pair of garden shears. Best Picks. Chello is a small, determinate tomato that ripens before all others. It has a bright yellow color, and its sweet flavor is superior to other cherry types. (80 days from transplant to harvest) Glacier is a compact plant that produces salad-size 2½- to 3-inch fruit. (55 days from transplant to harvest) Husky Gold and Husky Red are great picks for pot culture. They are semidwarf but need staking or caging so the weight of the fruits doesn t cause GROW THESE VEGGIES A 1-liter soda bottle can be a water reservoir for container tomatoes. Punch several small holes in the top half of the bottle, and cut one larger hole near the base. Set the bottle in place upside down as you fill the container. Add water twice a week. the stems to break. (70 days from transplant to harvest) Italian Gold is a compact determinate that produces huge amounts of 3-ounce fruit. (75 days from transplant to harvest) Juliet is a small plum type with an aggressive vine, but it can be kept pruned to stay in place. You ll love the delicious little fruits in salads or for cooking. (60 days from transplant to harvest) Northern Delight was bred in North Dakota for the short seasons of the far north. Its 2-inch, slightly oval fruit is every bit as sweet as tomatoes grown further south. (65 days from transplant to harvest) Oregon Eleven has tidy, determinate vines loaded with 1½- to 2-inch fruit with thin skin. (60 to 65 days from transplant to harvest) Prairie Fire bears 1½- to 2-inch fruit on vigorous plants. (60 to 65 days from transplant to harvest) Stupice is very cold tolerant and bears sweet-tasting, 2-inch fruit all summer. (60 to 65 days from transplant to harvest) 28 VEGETABLE CONTAINER GARDENING 29

16 GROW THESE VEGGIES Upside-Down Tomatoes You will need: 5-gallon plastic bucket with sturdy handle and lid Drill Tomato seedling ready for transplant of a variety that yields small fruit Sphagnum moss, newspaper, or coffee filters to hold the young plant in place Potting soil and compost Hook Here s a unique way to grow tomatoes in containers upside down! Readers of Organic Gardening have reported increased yields when growing tomatoes this way. One reader, Kathi Morris of Missouri, attributes the abundance of fruit to less stress on the tomato vines and increased air circulation, which diminishes the risk of disease. Morris and her husband built a wooden frame to hold the containers, but you could also hang the buckets from hooks or brackets attached to any wall or fence. Upside-down tomato planting has become so popular that you can find several styles of planters online for purchase. If you d like to make your own, here s how. 1 Drill a 2- to 3-inch hole in the middle of the bottom of the bucket, then set the bucket right side up on two sawhorses or anything that leaves the hole exposed. 2 Hold the seedling by the roots and, from the inside of the bucket, gently thread the plant s stem and leaves down through the hole until no more than 2 inches of the plant hangs out. 3 While holding the plant in place, pack the area around the stem with moss, newspaper, or coffee filters to keep the root ball from falling through the hole. Still holding the plant in place, carefully add soil evenly up to the root ball. Release the plant and continue to add soil to about 2 inches from the top of the bucket. 4 Add 2 cups of compost, then add additional soil to 1 inch from the top of the bucket. 5 Hang the bucket from the hook (take care not to drag the plant as you carry it). Water thoroughly and then check the soil level. If it has dropped below 2 inches from the top of the bucket, add more soil or compost. 6 Water and fertilize from the top. Put the bucket s lid on loosely to help conserve water. Or plant a living mulch (parsley or thyme, for example) in the top of the bucket. Just be sure to water sufficiently so the water reaches the tomato roots. 7 For the first few days, check the plant daily to be sure the top of the plant is growing away from the hole and not back into it. Once the plant gets heavier, this won t be an issue. 30 VEGETABLE CONTAINER GARDENING 31

17 The fun and flavor of vegetables growing in containers can be yours! LEARN... What to put in the bottom of your pot and it s not gravel or pottery shards! The pros and cons of 7 types of containers Ingenious ways to keep up with the watering needs of a container garden How to feed your plant organically And more! OutsmartDeer